Pokemon Clannad
by IchigoHatake
Summary: A retelling of Clannad using the characters of Pokémon. Even if you haven't watched Clannad, I think you could still follow the story. Advanceshipping. More explained in first chapter. Question: Would this count as a crossover? Please read and review. I hope you enjoy! Characters unlisted because there are a lot. A tale of two unalike people meeting and slowly falling in love.
1. Episode 1 Part 1

**Thank you for tuning in. This is my retelling of Clannad through Pokemon characters. I'm working really hard to make this, so I hope you readers enjoy. I tried to match up each Clannad character to the closest Pokemon anime character I can think of. Not everyone can be perfectly accurate, but I did my best. This is the result:**

**Tomoya- Ash**

**Nagisa- May**

**Sunohara- Barry**

**Mei- Bonnie**

**Tomoyo- Leaf**

**Ryou- Dawn**

**Kyou- Misty**

**Kotomi- Bianca**

**Fuko- Lyra**

**Tomoya's dad- Giovanni**

**Akio- Norman**

**Sanae- Caroline**

**Ushio- OC**

**Yukine- Serena**

**Misae- Erika**

**Yusuke- Reggie**

**Kouko- Maylene**

**Toshio- Rowan**

**Katsuki- Brock**

**Kazuto (Though he's only mentioned)- Calem**

**That should be enough for now. On with the story. (Told from Ash's POV)**

I hate this city. I hate Pallet Town. It's full of memories I want to forget about. My schedule never changes. Go to school every day, chat with friends and Pikachu, and then go back to the home I don't even want to go back to. Will something eventually change doing this?

I just kept walking, pondering the subject as I walked slowly to school. I was wearing the usual uniform, some geeky tan outfit. My only true friend, Pikachu, rode on my shoulder, making what sounded like a sighing noise as well. He too, must be getting sick of doing this.

I let out a long sigh too as I arrived at the hill leading up to the school. Beautiful sakura trees lined the road, their petals falling and swirling in the wind, but looking at that didn't ease my pain. If something different could just happen. A day that can change my whole life. Will that day come?

I continued waking, staring blankly as I strode up the hill. I'd probably be late for school again. Not that I cared. Not that _anyone_ cared. I was well known as a delinquent. They'd rather not have me around anyway. And no one was that concerned about me. I was late every day in fact.

I thought I heard someone taking a deep breath, so I turned to face them. It was a girl with brown hair pulled back by red barettes. She wore the usual girl uniform, the tan outfit with a miniskirt. She also wore long socks. She looked extremely nervous, though I couldn't tell why. I just kept staring at her.

"Sweet bean bread!" she suddenly called out, startling me a bit. A Torchic brushed against her feet.

"Do you like this school?" she then asked out of nowhere. "I really, really love it. Torchic loves it too. But nothing can stay unchanged."

A girl I've never seen before. The words weren't directed at me. I knew that. She wasn't even facing me. She must be talking to someone in her heart.

She continued on, her voice a soft whisper, sweet and beautiful. "Fun things...Happy things...They can't all possibly stay unchanged. Even so, can you keep on loving this place?"

I know she isn't talking to me, but I feel like I need to speak.

"Just find them," I instructed.

Startled, she turned around and stared at me, observing me and my Pikachu. Her Torchic cooed up at Pikachu. A sudden gust of wind blew some leaves from the trees and the unknown girl's hair whipped around in the wind. She didn't fuss about her hair getting all messed up by the wind though. She kept her gaze fixed on me.

"Just find new fun and happy things," I continued. I don't know why these words were coming out or why I was talking to this girl in the first place, but I couldn't stop now.

"C'mon, let's get going," I told her, ending my cheesy speech. I started walking, expecting her to follow. She stood there silently and gazed at me for a while longer. Then, her Torchic squawked and she got out of her trance, chasing after me.

This girl was kind of cute, following me like this. She was shorter than me and her strides weren't as long, so she had to run to keep up with me. She followed me like Ducklett after its mother. We start to walk up...the long...long uphill climb...Could this be the change I'd asked for?

_Pokemon Clannad_

Before I knew it, it was the end of school again and I was heading to Barry's dorm. Barry is my best friend, but he's sort of an idiot and to make things worse, a pervert too. Plus, he sort of picks fights with the wrong people...which is what is happening right now.

Barry cried out in horror as the rugby team surrounded him, one of the guys coming behind him and grabbing his arms from behind so that he couldn't escape. It looked like they'd already shaken him up a did he do this time?

"Have you learned your lesson now, Barry?!" one of the guys on the team screamed at him.

"What do you think you're doing playing your CDs so loud every day?!" another guy hissed in anger.

They were angry that he was playing his music too loud? That's a bit harsh. Suddenly, I realized his Empoleon wasn't there to protect him. What had happened to it? And then I saw Empoleon was helping the team beat him up. I sweat-dropped. I'd told Sunohara that everyone would get sick of his crappy music eventually.

"But if I don't listen to it, I don't get rolling," Barry protested weakly, cowering as the players started tossing out their Pokemon. This was getting bad.

"Scum!" the guy holding him shouted, lifting him up into the air. Someone's Servine prepared a vine whip attack.

"They don't get tired of doing that every day, do they?" I sighed, knowing I had to help him out somehow.

"Ash! Stop watching and help me!" Barry cried out when he saw me. He screamed as someone gave him a wedgie and then Servine started vine whipping his butt. This was a bit awkward.

I suddenly lost the desire to help him. "I'll get infected by your idiocy, so no."

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

"You're so heartless!" Barry whined.

The guy gave him a worse wedgie then threw him onto the ground. As Barry rolled across the ground, the guys and their Pokemon started kicking him like a soccer ball. Once Barry lay defeated, another guy kept his torture going, picking him back up, throwing him in the air, and giving him one hard kick to the back, sending him flying. Then, another guy caught him and they started throwing him around like they were playing a game of hot potato. Dang. I thought they'd be done with him by now. The last guy in line, gripped Barry and then threw him on the ground, pinning him.

"Shut up!" a certain woman shouted. Everyone was in trouble now.

Erika, the lady running the dorm, came running at the athletes, spinning a broom faster than any human should be able to spin something. All the guys looked terrified every her and they had every right to be.

Erika easily managed to break them up without having to hit anyone. Everyone ran out of the dorm as quickly as they could, screaming like little girls. Come on, Barry. If Erika can scare them off, you should be able to.

Erika growled and threw down the broom. "For crying out loud! I'm the one that has to deal with the complaints from the neighbors."

"Dorm mother sounds like a tough job," I agreed, picking up Erika's Purrloin and holding it in my arms.

Barry moaned and hugged Ms. Erika's legs. "Ms. Erika...come save me earlier, please," he whimpered.

She kicked him off of her lightly and scolded him. "You're the one at fault, aren't you? Why don't you learn your lesson?"

Barry groaned as he sinked into the floor. "Yes ma'am," he wheezed, exhausted.

"Damn that rugby club," Barry snarled once we were safe inside his room. We were sitting at his table, him and one side and me on the opposite end, facing each other. "And you too, Empoleon. Why didn't you defend me?"

The Pokemon crossed its arm and "hmph"ed. Even his partner that Barry was at fault here.

"If you mumble, the rugby club won't hear you," I teased. "Damn that rugby club!" I then shouted, adding effect.

Barry panicked as someone responded, "Who just said that?!" The thrust themselves into Barry's wall, knocking over one of the pictures on his wall.

Barry screamed in fear, but tried to stay as quiet as he could. Maybe I'd taken the joke too far?

"Are you trying to kill me?!" he screamed at me, pouncing on my and wrapping his arm around my neck. She choked me and I struggled to push him off of me.

"You're wimping out," I replied with a "hmph".

"I wouldn't be backing out if it were one-on-one," argued Barry. "But there's just too many of them."

He released his grip on me and stood back up. He suddenly had a determined look on his face. "Just you wait! When graduation comes around, I'll pay them back in full! When the time comes, Ash, I trust you to watch my back. And you too, Pikachu."

"Lucky! I'll be sure to stab you as well," I replied, smiling and giving him a thumbs up.

Pikachu gave a fake smile as his cheeks sparked with electricity.

"Don't come after me!" screamed Barry, gritting his teeth in anger. "Go after them!"

"But I'm on the rugby club's side," I responded, crushing my friend. "Pikachu is too."

"Pika," he agreed with a nod.

"Since when?!" cried Barry, tears forming in his eyes.

"Only for that."

"Keep it down!" a rugby club member warmed us, screaming through the wall. He then kicked the wall as well. Barry almost jumped out if his pants in fear. He jumped back over to his seat and cowered a bit under the table. Were they that scary? I bet Pikachu and I could take them on.

"Should I kick back?" I laughed, standing up and pulling my foot back for a kick.

Barry screamed, running his fingers through his hair, about to pull some out. I knew it was a bit mean to mess with him like this, but it was how our relationship worked.

And just like that, another same-old-day ends. It's not like I have a goal or something to devote my passion towards. What a bland day...

_Pokemon Clannad_

POV SWITCH: UNKNOWN

This is a world that has ended. Nothing is born and nothing dies. Even time does not exist. If I were searching for a place to be born, I realize it should not be here. There is a person in a world like this. A girl. She has long brown hair that flows to her waist. She wears a plain white dress. She lives in this world, where all I've seen is a wooden floor and table.

Could she see me? I am not born to this world. The girl who lives alone in the world that has ended. The girl who lives in a vacant, unmoving world. For some reason, she interests me.

_Pokemon Clannad_

Ash's POV

I was back in school yet another day. I walked down the long, blue hallway to my classroom. Pikachu yawned in my ear, he hadn't slept much last night. I was about to open the door when I heard someone talking within the classroom.

"Ash and Barry aren't here yet?" the voice asked. "What are they thinking? They're seniors, so don't they have their exams and their futures to worry about?"

"Forget about them," another voice snorted. "We don't have time to worry about others, do we?"

I pulled the door open and stepped in, trying not to take their words to heart. I heard Pikachu's cheeks spark, and I shook my head, letting him know that they didn't bother me at all. The guys had shut up once I'd walked in anyway. I heard one of them sneer though.

I pulled out my chair and put my bag on my desk. I stared down at my bag, not thinking about anything in particular. Pikachu came down onto my chest and I patted his head.

"U-um...Ash?" a small female voice called out to me.

I looked up, seeing it was only Dawn, a girl in my classroom and also our representative. "Huh? What is it Dawn?"

"You came in late today too," she said, stating the obvious. She tried to smile at me.

"So?" I challenged, wondering if she planned to scold me.

"Um, I think you should come properly to school every day," she suggested. That wasn't happening.

"So you talk like a class representative, eh?" I chuckled. Pikachu stared down at Dawn's Buneary with a smirk and Buneary blushed, turning bright red.

"N-not just "like,"" she replied weakly, looking like she didn't know what to do now. "I _am_ the class representative..."

"Hey, Ash, don't make the class rep cry," warned some random guy within my class. "Her sis is gonna come running in here."

"I'm fine!" Dawn bursted out at him. "I'm not crying!"

"Fine," I said to her with a sigh. "Let's just say it'll depend on tomorrow's mood."

"Th-Then um...I'll read your fortune for tomorrow," she suggested with a smile. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. "Fortune telling is my hobby after all."

She slowly shuffled the cards, looking focused, but then fumbled and ended up dropping all her cards. They all scattered everywhere across the floor. She whined and started collecting them. I sighed and got down to help her.

"Come on," I mumbled.

"Ash, you'll be late tomorrow," she predicted just as I was about to pick up a card.

I fell out of my chair. "Are you picking a fight with me?!"

She shook her head furiously. "That's how the cards came out! I think this is how this sort of fortune telling works."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Think?"

She continued reading the scattered cards. "On the way to school, you'll have a romantic meeting with a kind girl, forget about the time passing by, and therefore be late."

Buneary giggled and inched in closer to Pikachu. "I don't think the romantic meeting is for you Buneary," I laughed.

I then turned back to Dawn. "That's really detailed, isn't it?"

"A-A maiden's inspiration-" she started to say.

"-ASH!" Dawn's sister interrupted. She threw a large book at me, at least 1,000 pages and I narrowly avoiding it, ducking as it flew out the window. It was Misty. She carried no Pokemon with her, but Pikachu was still willing to fight her, glaring up at her in anger.

"Sis," said Dawn, surprised by her sudden appearance.

"Misty..." I sighed.

She stormed in at me. "You've got some nerve, picking on my sister!" I grunted as she grabbed me by the neck tie, choking me a bit. Pikachu growled up at her, but she ignored him. "You loser!"

"I was only taking to her!" I screamed, defending myself so I could get her off me quickly before Pikachu roasted her.

Dawn chimed in and helped me out. "Yeah, sis! He wasn't picking on me or anything."

Misty gave me one last look and released my tie. "Then fine." She looked down at the cards spread out on the floor. "You had Dawn read your fortune?"

"Yeah, apparantly I'm going to have a romantic encounter with a kind girl tomorrow," I responded, skepticism lining my voice. Did I really want to believe in what some cards were saying? Did Dawn even read them right?

Misty chuckled at me with an evil look on her face.

"What's with the grin?" I snorted.

"Nothing~!" she sang. She placed her hand on my shoulder. "Well, good luck!"

She then burst out laughing as she turned around, walking out of the room. She looked a bit too joyful. She was definitely making fun of me.

_Pokemon Clannad_

"So where should we go eat?" I asked Pikachu as we walked through the hall. Lunch break had just began.

Before Pikachu could answer me, I stopped, listening to a group of guys talk.

"A ghost?" one laughed.

"Yeah," said the second guy. I heard it appears. The ghost of the girl that got in a car accident."

"I bet its something else," the third guy said in disbelief.

"A ghost, eh?" I passed them by then waited for Pikachu's answer. "So, lunch?"

Pikachu was unable to answer once again as I abruptly stopped, looking down and seeing that girl from yesterday. The one who'd silently followed me up the hill. Pikachu turned and stared at her too. She was alone down there except for her Torchic. She ate bread in complete silence while her Torchic munched on what looked like hand-made pokeblock.

"Want to go talk to them?" I asked Pikachu. "I'm sure Torchic would share her food with you."

Pikachu smiled and nodded. I headed out the door and approached the girl. "Hey. You alone? Why not eat in class with your friends?"

She didn't answer me. She just kept mowing on the bread. It was...sweet bean bread? Thinking back...didn't she mumble something about sweet bean bread when I passed by her?

"Hey? Are you listening?" I asked, getting impatient.

"I'm sorry," she told me. "I'm eating right now."

"Okay," I said, sitting beside her. I could respect that she didn't want to talk right now. I didn't really talk while I ate either. Pikachu came up to Torchic and greeted her. Torchic smiled back at him and offered some pokeblock. Looks like I was right. They were fast friends. What about the girl and me though?

Eventually, she finished the bread, folding up the wrapper and throwing it away. She then took Torchic's empty bowl and placed it neatly in her bag. Then, she sipped the last drop of her juice box and threw that away too. She sure savored her food.

I'd started eating too, having picked a hot dog for lunch. Pikachu didn't eat the food I'd made A) because I'm a bad cook and B) because he'd already eaten plenty of pokeblock already. The girl was finally finished with all her food and she turned to me.

"Um, how can I help you?" she asked.

"Wanted to ask why you're eating out here alone," I responded.

"Do you like this school?" she asked me, dodging my question.

"Not particularly," I growled with my mouth full of food.

"I really, really love it," she said, but her eyes looked sad though. It didn't match what she was saying. "I used to have friends and teachers I got along with, but now..."

"Did something happen?" I asked, actually curious. Usually I didn't bother talking to anyone, but I guess she was a bit different...somehow...

She sighed. "Last year, I was away from school for a long period of time. So I'm..."

"You're repeating the year," I finished for her.

"Yes. I'm repeating," she said back to me, giving me a weak smile. "All the people I knew graduated and the people I don't know fill this school. I feel sort of alone...Oh! I'm sorry! What am I saying to a person I just met...?"

"So that's why you were mumbling that...you weren't involved in any clubs?"

"No," she breathed sadly. "I originally wanted to join the Pokemon Theater Club with Torchic, but I have a weak body, so I don't think I can properly participate in the activities."

"Participate to the extent you can," I suggested. "Why not go to the Pokemon Theater Club after school?"

"But..."

"Hey. Look over there." I pointed at some people in the window. "They're looking over at us. If you always look so sad, you won't make friends. Smile and wave your hand. With a big smile."

She seemed unsure at first, but she slowly raised her hand and smiled up at the people, waving her hand slowly. They left though, not having noticed her.

"I guess they didn't notice," I sighed.

"I don't have much of a presence in class either," she said.

Suddenly, a strange noise rang out.

"What is that sound?" she asked.

We both ran out to the soccer field together where two bikers were riding on their motorcycles and stirring up the dirt.

"Wow! So cool! They're wheeling over," Barry called out among the spectators.

"Barry, what's going on?" I asked him, praying my idiot friend could give me some decent info.

"I think they're here for a fight," he chuckled. The brown-haired girl looked alarmed. I should really learn her name soon.

Suddenly, some girls started screaming really loud. I turned to see what was happening. A girl with light brown hair that stuck out a bit spiky in places starting walking out onto the field, her Machop standing beside her.

"Is she going to give them a lecture?" I asked aloud.

_Pokemon Clannad: To Be Continued_


	2. Episode 1 Part 2

"Why did this happen?" asked May, picking up Torchic and hugging it. She didn't understand why anyone would attack our school.

"This is, after all, the best Pokemon Trainers school in the city," I explained, petting Pikachu as he rested on my shoulder. "So there are guys who don't like that idea."

We all watched from afar as the spiky-haired girl yelled at the bikers. The bikers started to look pissed. Machop raised its arms, ready to defend his trainer if needed. The bikers seemed about ready to call upon their Pokemon.

I stepped forward a bit. "You're going to help?" asked Barry in surprise.

I took off my jacket and Pikachu smirked, eager to battle. "I can't sit and watch."

"You don't have to worry about, Leaf," a girl said to me.

"Leaf?" That girl on the field?

"You don't know her?" another underclassman asked. "She transferred her as a junior starting this spring. Leaf Green!"

"She's an amazing trainer," a short-haired girl chimed in. "Both her and her Machop have incredible physical strength. If you go out, you might just get in her way."

Pikachu scoffed. I turned to face her. The biker's were clutching their pokeballs now. "But..."

"I don't want to cause an unnecessary disturbance," Leaf said to the biker's, looking cool and collected. How could she act so calm when those guys are about to beat her up? "Get lost before you get hurt," she warned them. "If you do, I'll let all of you go."

"Chop! Machop!" her Pokemon growled, flexing its muscles.

The biker's started sweating a bt, debating what they should do. Leaf smirked. "You don't want to deliberately ask for pain, do you?"

"Don't screw with us!" the leader with long, swirled black hair screamed at her. He revved up his bike and let his Pokemon loose, a strong-looking Bisharp.

We all watched in horror as the bikers started circling her with their bikes, their Pokemon coming in to attack Machop. Neither of them looked even slightly concerned for their safety.

Leaf sighed, and leapt up into the air, smashing her foot right into the leader's face and knocking him cleanly off of his bike. Machop then began attacking too, karate chopping any Pokemon that came to close to it.

One of the biker's came at her with a dirty move, have a weapon in his hand, some sort of large ball. Leaf did a combo, kicking him in the stomach several times and sending him flying across the field, dirt smearing his face. All the guys screamed in pain as Leaf finished them off. Machop finished up his duty around the same time as well. Leaf shook out her hair out and listened to their screams die out. "Good job, Machop."

Machop responded by giving her a thumbs-up.

"We told you not to screw with us!" two bikers screamed, coming out of nowhere. Machop and Leaf swiftly pushed them off their bikes.

"So cool!" the girls beside me screamed. The Torchic girl and I just stared in awe.

"What is she?" gasped Barry.

_Pokemon Clannad_

Now that that whole ordeal was over, Torchic girl and I sat back down together at the spot where we'd eaten lunch.

"So she's a transfer student,"said the girl, looking deep in thought.

"She in a similar position to you, yet she's so popular," I replied. If she could make friends, this girl could too. "So everything depends on the individual."

"Maybe you are right," sighed the girl, looking kind of sad again.

_Pokemon Clannad_

I was back in class now and I was starting to feel a bit bad. I sounded a bit mean earlier. I kind of put that girl down, didn't I? Who do I think I am? I'm in no position to lecture others. Not me.

~Flashback~

"I'll be going now," I said to the girl, petting Torchic good-bye. Pikachu ran onto my shoulder and I stood up to go.

"Ah, yes," she responded quietly, jumping to her feet as well. She scooped up Torchic and the fire type smiled happily at her. "Um...thank you very much!" she suddenly said, bowing to me.

"I'm Ash Ketchum for Class D," I told her, seeing this as the perfect chance to finally learn her name. "This is my partner, Pikachu. You probably knew that though."

"I'm May Maple from Class B," she greeted back. "And this is my sweet little Torchic."

"Chic~!"

"Nice to meet you." I would've smiled, but it takes a lot for me to smile now-a-days.

May smiled at me whole-heartedly. Her blue eyes seemed to gleam. "Yes, nice to meet you too...Ash Ketchum."

~End~

"Hey! Ash!" whispered Barry, interrupting my thoughts. "Tag along later."

I wondered what on earth he was talking about. All I knew was, that whatever he was doing, it was something stupid.

_Pokemon Clannad_

Barry had dragged me with him into the juniors' hallway where we stood face-to-face with that girl from the fight, Leaf.

"A setup?" asked Leaf, cocking her head in confusion.

"Yeah. There's no way a girl could beat up guys," scoffed Barry.

"Empo!" Empoleon added in.

Machop put its hands onits hips and glared at Empoleon. I opened my pokedex. Looked like Machop was a girl.

"You must have paid them or something, asking them to lose, right?" Barry continued, looking awfully proud of himself. "So that you could get popular." Barry smirked. "If it's not money, would it be the other something?"

Idiot...

"Girls are lucky, since stupid guys will listen to that," he said with a smile.

Barry, you idiot...Even Pikachu was face-palming. I felt bad for Empoleon, being stuck with him all the time.

"Who are they?" some people started whispering, staring at Barry and me.

"They're the gang from the senior class," another girl answered, sounding scared. "I think they're Barry and Ash..."

Leaf spoke up. "Rejoice. I was thinking I wouldn't hurt people in my school, but I will make an exception and specially fight you. Barry was it? You versus me and my Machop versus your Empoleon."

"You're so cute acting tough," Barry mocked her. "I bet your knees are shaking."

"I would like to call this self-defense," she carried on. "So _you_ come at _me."_

Barry chuckled. "Don't be so full of yourself."

Barry's expression changed and he charged at her full throttle. Empoleon started for Machop too. "DIE!"

Barry went in for a punch. That's when I remembered. "In this city, there used to be a really strong, beautiful girl with a Machop by her side who went around beating up people who troubled ordinary folks. So the rumor goes." I explained to Barry and Empoleon as they lay on the ground, defeated.

"Tell me earlier," cried Barry.

"She's amazing!" the crowd cried.

"Please don't come here again," sighed Leaf, looking sternly at Barry. She then turned around and walked to wherever it was she needed to be. Machop snorted at Empoleon one last time before following after her.

"Dammit!" shouted Barry, still on the floor.

_Pokemon Clannad_

It was getting close to the end of another day. I walked up the steps to the third floor of the old building. If I remembered correctly, this is where the liberal arts club rooms are. As I walked up to the grey hall, lined with countless windows, I saw May standing outside a room, staring down at her feet. Torchic pecked at the door.

"Looks like she's up to it," I commented.

"Pika..."

She said something, but I couldn't hear from the distance, but reading her lips, it seemed like she'd said, "Hamburger?"

"Excuse me!" she called out, finally opening up the door. A shocked look appeared on her face and I stood there for a second. Then I ran over to her to see what was wrong. I looked inside the room and all I could see was boxes.

"Chu," sighed Pikachu.

I patted May's head. "Ash...I didn't know you were here."

"Yeah."

She looked up at the hand I'd placed on her head. "What's this hand for?"

"No real reason," I replied honestly.

We both walked outside together and sat on the lawn. She sat on her calves and I laid in the grass, using my arm to shield my eyes from the sun. Pikachu and Torchic played a game of tag.

"I had forgotten. The Pokemon Theater Club closed down in March." I felt bad, like I'd set her up for disappointment.

"I heard the number of members was small to begin with," sighed May, staring down at the grass.

I hadn't noticed, but Dawn had seen the two of us sitting there. She blushed and ran off quickly.

I watched Pikachu for a while, before saying, "But since they're only closed for now, if certain conditions are met, it can start up again."

"Do you think so?"

"Why not give it another try?" I suggested. "I'll help you too."

"Um, Ash," she said, her voice a whisper. She looked a bit confused. "Why are you being so nice to me when we only just met?"

"Why?" I didn't know how to answer that. "I wonder why too."

She smiled at me, her cheeks gettin rosy. Why'd she smile? I hadn't given a good answer.

_Pokemon Clannad_

I walked through the streets. It was getting dark now. I was heading back home, but I really didn't want to go back to that place. I could tell that Pikachu didn't either. He tensed up more and more as we got closer and closer. I stopped to buy a drink at the convenience store, but that only wasted so much time. I then stopped for a while to watch a street performer. I didn't find him particularly entertaining, but Pikachu and I gave him some money at the end anyway. Then, as sunset rolled around I found myself yawning on a park bench. Pikachu has found a bush full of berries and was munching on them. I then had to start walking again.

~Flashback~

"We'll part here then," I May said to me as we arrived at a street crossing.

"Okay. Bye."

Just as I was walking away, she said, "Um...Ash..." She pointed down the street she was taking. "My house is the bakery further ahead, in front of the park. Please come when you feel like it. I'm sure Torchic wants to have a playdate soon with Pikachu too. Please come when you feel like it."

"Torchic!" the fire bird sad to Pikachu.

"Chu. Pika Pi."

"Yeah," I replied. "When I feel like it."

~End~

I now stood a few feet away from the bakery, staring into it. Pikachu sniffed the air and moaned longingly. There was a nice scent coming from the bakery. They didn't just make bread for humans, they also specialized in poffins.

I gave in to my desires and walked into the store. A bell rang as I walked in. "Hello?!"

I looked around, but the room was empty. "What? No one's here?"

I looked down at some bread, which had some black spice or something on the top.

"That's this week's new release." I looked up to see a woman with light brown hair in swirled pigtails. She smiled sweetly at me. "Please try one if you like."

She seemed so young and pretty. Could she be May's older sister? Or mother? A Tepig stood by her side. I assumed that Pokemon helped heat up and bake the bread.

"You don't have to worry about paying," she assured me. It is a leftover after all. The concept for that is "soothing.""

"Soothing..."

I picked up a piece of bread and broke off some for Pikachu as well. He eyes it ravenously. "Then I'll take the offer."

She and her Tepig stared hopefully at me as we each took a bite. I'd expected it to be soft, but I stared at in suspicion when I heard a crunch. Pikachu paused too.

"There's a rice cracker inside," she explained. "It's rice cracker bread!"

"Pig!" Tepig snorted proudly.

"The naming sense is amazing, but your sense for making bread is amazing too..."

"Chu..."

"You think so too?" she giggled.

"Tepig!"

I took another bite.

"It's a victory from an idea!" she cheered. When I didn't respond, she asked, "Is there a problem?"

"You want to hear it?" I scoffed. I got serious. Enter: Ash's food critic mood. "To be frank...this is a failure!"

Pikachu nodded, throwing his bread on the floor. Tepig shrieked and took the piece of bread in his mouth, crunching into it sadly. The woman stared at me wide-eyed. That wasn't the news she had expected to hear.

"It wasn't good?" she squeaked.

"There is a problem with the taste," I agreed, "But first of all, it's too difficult to eat. It's natural that you get leftovers."

I panicked when I saw that she'd started to cry, her Tepig too, snorted out embers from its nose, looking forlorn.

"So...our bread is..." she sobbed.

"Hey." I reached my hand out to comfort her.

"IT WAS NATURAL THERE WOULD BE LEFTOVERS?!" she shouted as she ran out of the shop.

"Tepig?! Tep!" her Tepig followed after her.

"Like mother, like daughter," I sighed, not knowing what to do. Pikachu sweat-dropped. "I hope the father is sane."

"Hey," a deep voice hissed, lightly kicking my back to get my attention.

"What?"

I gulped when I saw a tall man, with blue hair glaring at me and holding a baseball bat, cigarette hanging from his mouth. An angry Voltorb rolled by his side. "You said what you're not supposed to say," he growled threateningly.

He pointed hid bat and me and I backed up a bit. Pikachu hopped off my shoulder, and Voltorb and him shocked at each other.

"You should have kept eating and said it's good," he told me. He then tapped me with the bat. "That's what duty is about. What morality is about. The truth is always harsh. And, to tell her that straightforwardly would be...too brutal for her!"

He tapped me with his bat repeatedly, getting really worked up now. "The neighbors all eat her bread saying it's good. This is an unspoken rule! It's law!"

He pushed me against the store window and place the bat under my chin, shoving my head up. "So you'd better obey it. Or else I'll knock you down."

He suddenly took notice of something and paused for a second. "You're wearing the same uniform as our daughter. Don't tell me you're May's friend?"

And so, May's mom, dad, and I all gathered around a table together.

"Should've told me earlier, idiot," chuckled May's father with a smile.

"I'm sorry I presented myself so shamefully before my daughter's friend," her mom apologized.

Her dad laughed. "Don't worry, Caroline. He looks, dumb, so I bet he forgot about it already, right?"

May's dad scuffed up my hair and I turned to see Pikachu. He was chatting peacefully with Tepig and Voltorb. Looks like they were all friends now too.

"You shouldn't say that to out guest, Norman," Caroline scolded him.

Why is it turning out like this?

"In any case, it's great," said Norman. "May brought a friend over as soon as the new semester started."

I looked to May, who wore and apron and was cooking with Torchic in the kitchen. Torchic ran her over ingredients while she followed some recipe.

"And it's a boy too," giggled Caroline, pressing her hands together.

"What?!" cried Norman, outraged. "A guy?"

He grabbed my head and turned me to look at him. He stared at me for a while. He didn't realize I was a guy until just now?

"Maybe he's her boyfriend," she teased.

Norman scoffed. "I can't give May away to a puny guy like him. Go home."

"Then excuse me," I said, standing up. Pikachu hopped over to me.

Norman pulled me back down and Pikachu backed away. "You really call yourself a man?!" he shouted. "If you're a man, sweep away the woman you fell in love with even if it means using force! That said, I still won't give her to you though."

I sighed in annoyance. May walked into the room holding a large plate. "You're all getting along already."

She set the plate down in the center of the table and took a seat.

"Of course," said Norman. "We'd never mistreat our daughter's friend."

"Goo!" all three of them shouted out once, giving a thumbs-up.

Norman stared at me. "What's with the blank look?"

"I was thinking that I probably shouldn't get myself involved with this family," I responded.

Norman slapped my shoulder hard. "As you can see, we already fire slightly harsh jokes at each other!"

"Oh right," Caroline remembered. "We haven't heard your name yet."

"He's Ash," May replied for me. "Ash Ketchum. And that of course, is his Pikachu."

"What a puny name," Norman commented. "Make it like...Ash Erupto!"

Oh Jeez...

"That is nice," said Caroline. "May I call you Erupto?"

"While we're at it, why not change his whole name?" suggested Norman. "You're now Youcan'tmarrymydaughter OrI'llkillyou."

"That isn't a name," I retorted. "My name is Ash Ketchum and that's final."

"Pika," sighed Pikachu.

"What a picky brat," Norman harrumphed. "Caroline, do you have any good names?"

"Let's see," she thought. "How about adding something to the end of his first name, like to defy time, such as, Ash Ketchum Eternal!"

"That's great!" he cheered. "That's your name from now on, Ethanol."

He changed it...

Finally, things quieted down a bit and we got to eat the meal May had prepared. Before May ate, she handed out Pokemon food to all four Pokemon. I took a bite and watched as Norman, Caroline, and May all laughed together. They really looked like a close family. It almost seemed like I didn't belong, yet...I did. They seemed to accept me, if only a little.

Once dinner was over, I grabbed my sleeping Pikachu and May, Torchic, and I all walked down the road together. We soon arrived at the split where we had parted ways earlier.

"Thank you. I know the way back from here," I dismissed her.

"Sorry we made you stay so late," she apologized. She waved to me with a smile as I walked away.

It was a strange experience. So there are families like that too.

~Flashback~

"You get along so well," I'd said to her.

"You think so? I think we're normal."

~End~

I kicked off my shoes by the door. Pikachu had waken up now, so he scampered off to who knows where. I opened the sliding door and walked into the living room. It was a mess in there. The smell of alcohol scorched my nose and bottles and wrappers lined the floor. The television had been left on, but other than that, it was dark inside the room.

~Flashback~

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said to May.

"Pikachu!" my buddy said farewell as well.

"Yes. Good night," she said back with a smile.

"Torchic! Tor!"

~End~

I stood above the heap that lied on the table. The heap that was my father. His once brown hair was getting old and grey and he now needed glasses. He owned no Pokemon, unlike me. His Pokemon had been taken away after Team Rocket had been shut down. My father used to be a criminal, but now he was a goo-for-nothing old man who'd fallen apart after my mom, Delia, had died.

I turned on the light and he leaned against the wall. I turned to him and watched for a while.

"Pops," I said, shaking his shoulder. "If you're going to sleep, at least lie down in your bed. Hey, dad!"

He finally moaned and woke up. He adjusted his new glasses and smiled at me. "Oh, hi."

I gritted me teeth together. I hate him.

"I guess I caused Ash trouble again," he said, scratching his neck.

I stood quickly and ran out of the room as fast as I could, running out into the night. Pikachu called after me, but he didn't follow. I didn;t know where exactly I was running, but I just kept going.

My mother died in a car accident when I was little. Because of that, pops started getting addicted to gambling and alcohol, and he stopped working too.

I turned and found myself near May's house. Had I ran here on purpose or just subconsciously? I stared up at the balcony, but saw no one there. I panted, exhausted from having run all this way.

"If you wish," May's voice whispered in the night. I saw her under the street light, her hand extending and body seeming to glisten. She was by herself, no Torchic. "Would you like me to take you? To a place in this city where wishes come true."

Pokemon Clannad: To Be Continued


	3. Episode 2 Part 1

"If you wish, would you like me to take you? To the place in this city where wishes come true."

I stared at May in shock for a long while, trying to process what she had just said.

She opened her eyes and smiled and me ever so slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Eh," I grunted in surprise.

She began walking forward, coming over to meet me. "Did you leave something at my house?"

"Uh, no," I fumbled on my words a bit. I felt kind of dumb for staring. "I was just taking a walk."

"Pikachu isn't with you," she noticed.

"You don't have Torchic either," I countered. "But that isn't important. What were _you_ doing?"

Her eyes widened a bit and her mouth formed an O shape. She stared like that for a split second before grinning. "Reciting lines from a play," she answered calmly. "It's a play that I want to perform when the Pokémon Theater Club reforms."

I let out a breath I've sort of been holding. "Oh, so they were lines..." I had thought she was talking to me.

"I always practice here," she continued. "Since you were here, I had you watch my performance."

Okay. That explained a lot. "So you're up to getting the Pokémon Theater Club back together?"

"Yes," she answered quickly. "I don't know how much I can do, but I'm thinking I'll give it my best shot."

She appeared to be a bit nervous, and though the smile on her face was smile, I really believed she could accomplish her goal with a good amount of determination.

"I see," I responded.

"Yes!"

POV SWITCH: UNKNOWN

The girl's life is a lonely one. No one other than the girl exists. It is a given...since nothing is born or dies here. This is such a world.

That body was made for me. A body of scraps of metals creating a Pokémon she referred to as "Pikachu." Is "wishing" all I have to do? Wish to be born in this world...The one and only warmth in this world. Since some time ago, I've sought that.

_Pokémon Clannad_

POV SWITCH: ASH

I walked down the sidewalk, heading to school and I found myself thinking of May. Pikachu just slept soundly on my shoulder. Every now and then, I'd pet his warm, fluffy ears.

"Getting the Pokemon Theater Club back together...," I wondered aloud. "Well, at least it'll be a good diversion for me."

Every day was so plain and predictable. This might entertain me if only for a short while. I was willing to accept any kind of change I could.

"ASH! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" A familiar voice shouted.

I turned around and my eyes widened in fear as I saw Misty coming at me with some sort of scooter/motorcycle thing. A Togepi sat behind her helmeted. It was a good thing Misty wore a helmet too for what came next.

She slammed into something I couldn't see quite clearly as I was falling. She let out an huge scream, her book bag was flung across the sidewalk, and she fell just like I had. Lucky Togepi had Misty to break her fall. The cute little Pokémon slammed into Misty's back. I, however, had slightly crushed Pikachu.

"Sorry," I hissed in pain as I brushed of Pikachu.

"OWWWW!" Misty screeched, holding her arm. She turned to me and scowled. "HEY, WATCH IT!"

"That's my line!" I screamed back at her. "Are you trying to kill us?!"

"PI! PIKACHU!"

She "hmph"ed at me and turned away. Then, she burst out laughing. "To tell you the truth, I'm not used to driving yet. I only got my license last week."

Misty propped herself up and sprung to her feet, taking Togepi in her arms. She stood her vehicle back up at placed Togepi back on it. She smiled as she inspected her ride. "Alright! No dents!" She turned to me and smirked. "I'll let you off without paying the repair fee." She then winked at me and gave a thumbs-up. "You'd better be grateful."

I sweatdropped and faced Pikachu. "Hey, aren't we the victims here?"

"Pika," he nodded.

But Misty just rode away, laughing like an idiot. I sighed. I'll never understand her.

"Misty, eh?" Barry laughed as he walked up. Empoleon shook his head as if to say, "That girl is crazy." Barry verified it. "There are a lot of savage girls in our school, don't you think?"

I stared at him as if he were a ghost. "Barry. It's rare to see you at such a normal hour."

He had that smile on his face. The smile that said he had something stupid planned. "I like paying debts quickly. To that other savage girl."

_Pokemon Clannad_

I should've known. He was challenging Leaf yet again. This wasn't going to go well...for Barry.

"You're so persistant," Leaf sighed in annoyance. Her Machop stood beside her, but stayed out of the fight. Machop already knew Empoleon wasn't on Barry's side.

"I was out of shape last time, but not today!" Barry screamed, clenching his fist. "When there's too much time between taking the mound, even the best pitcher...CAN GET KNOCKED OUT!"

Empoleon tried to keep from laughing at him.

'That's a lame analogy,' I thought to myself.

Leaf sighed again and got a serious look on her face. "Take my advice and stop. Or do you mind becoming unable to come to school?"

Barry suddenly looked scared. He then smiled confidently again though. Idiot. He never knows when to quit.

"I wonder which one of us will be unable to come to school?" he fired back at her.

"You're hopeless," Leaf huffed. She placed her hands on her hips and locked eyes with me. "Will you be my witness? That this is for self-defense."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Since it really is."

"Alright." She turned back to Barry. "So, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to make you unable to stand for a while?"

"You can't possibly do that!" Barry scoffed. "Quit blabbering and bring it on!"

He started the fight, running in to punch her. Leaf was lightning fast as she kneeled down and kicked him in the gut once, then fired off more kicks. So many, it was hard to count. She then fired one more kick. And then many more followed that.

"Wow, he's getting air time," I said in amazement. This Leaf girl was pretty amazing.

"Pika..." Even Pikachu was completely absorbed in the fight.

"Acquaintance!" Leaf shouted at me, still kicking the life out of Barry. "The dust chute!"

I was confused at first, but then opened the dust chute next to me. She then skillfully kicked him into the chute. He fell in, his backside going completely in and the rest of his body following. He legs stuck out and he was holding on the the edges of the chute with his hands, trying to get out and prevent himself from falling in.

"Help me!" he yelled at Empoleon.

Empoleon stared at him emotionlessly and shook his head.

Leaf slowly walked over to Barry and kneeled down. Barry looked completely terrified.

Leaf pointed at his hand. "You'll fall if I release these fingers. What do you want me to do?"

Barry shook his head, still scared.

"Do you want to fall?" she asked. "So you do."

"I DIDN'T ANSWER!" He shrieked.

Barry was helpless as Leaf started pulling his fingers off the shoot, starting with the pinky and then going down the row, slowly.

"AAAHHHHHHH!"

Barry screamed at the top of his lungs as he fell down the chute to who knows where. His scream echoed loudly. He landed with a loud bang.

"Did I go too far?" asked Leaf, looking concerned.

"Chop..." Machop looked unsure as well.

"No, he's fine," I responded, giving her a "WELL DONE!" smile along with a thumbs-up.

Pikachu and Empoleon ran up to the shoot.

"Pika?!"

"Empooooleoooon?!" They yelled down at Barry.

I walked up to call to him too. "Hey! Barry! You alive?"

"SCREW YOU!" he cried out. "This isn't the end!" I assumed he was talking to Leaf.

"Hear that?" I asked, smiling at her.

She frowned and sighed. "I really wish this _were the end._"

She then started to walk away, looking pretty irritated. Machop shrugged and started to follow her.

Suddenly, she stopped and turned her head just a bit so she could see me. "But...seeing you guys brings back memories."

"Huh?" I looked at her in confusion.

"Nothing," she said, ending the subject and walking away. "Forget what I said." Machop looked up at her a bit sadly.

"Pika..." my partner squeaked.

_Pokemon Clannad_

I yawned as I walked through the halls. As I walked by, I heard some people talking and decided to eaves drop.

"You saw it, right?" one of them asked.

"Yeah. So she really does exist..."

"What are you guys talking about?" I questioned as I approached them. Pikachu sparked his cheeks at them, telling them they had better answer.

"Oh, Ash," one guy said, taking notice of me.

The other guy answered me immediately. "She was just here in this hall. The ghost of a female student."

"She walks up to you and gives you a cursed item," the other dude carried on. "At a glance, she's a normal girl, but something's different."

I gazed at them in disbelief.

_Pokemon Clannad_

I walked up the steps that led to another hallway. Pikachu ran by my feet. I looked up at a sign that said: Library.

"Is the door unlocked?" I wondered.

I pulled on the door, and sure enough, it slid right open for me. Pikachu frowned at the thought of a room full of books. He couldn't read after all. And I couldn't say I liked too many books myself. I sort of came here, thinking it might be an empty, calm place.

Noticing a nice table with chairs around it, I smiled. "Perfect. We can take a nap here."

I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a girl though. Sitting on the floor beside a book shelf, a book open wide on her lap was a girl with blonde hair and a green hat. Glasses rested on her nose and she wore the usual uniform. A Snivy laid beside her.

I stared in shock as she pulled out a pair of scissors and was about to cut out the page. "HEY, HEY, HEY!"

She stopped immediately and turned to face me.

"That book belongs here, right? You can't go cutting it up!" I scolded her.

She breathed in surprise.

I looked down and examined her books. Pikachu stared down at the one next to Snivy.

"You're reading hard stuff," I commented. "Are you skipping class too? And why are you barefoot?"

She didn't speak as she took out her lunch box and unwrapped it from the cloth it was inside. She opened it, then spoke. "I made it. This is the one most well done!" She pointed to some of her meat.

"Food is off-limits in the library, you know." I had learned that the hard way. Pikachu just drooled as he stared at the lunch.

She smiled at me. "Do you want one?"

I bent down at sat next to her. "Alright. Since you offered..."

Before she gave me any, she set down some Pokemon food for Snivy and Pikachu, who graciously ate it. Pikachu looked content as always with food in his mouth.

"Ah!" A looked of realization appeared on the girl's face as she looked at the box.

"What?" I questioned.

"I only have one pair of chopsticks."

I hung my head in defeat, then thought of something. Why not just use my hands? Finger food. I grabbed a piece of the meat and tossed it in my mouth. I chewed for a while and evaluated the food.

"It's good!" I cheered with a smile.

She smiled in delight.

I then rose to my feet. "You'd better clean up now, since class will start soon," I suggested. I doubt the teachers would appreciate her scattering books everywhere. Pikachu finished his food, then ran over to me and crawled up onto my shoulder.

She stayed silent.

I looked at her questioningly. "You still need something?"

She paused for a moment, then said, "See you later."

I escaped the library and started thinking as I walked through the crowded halls. 'Is she the ghost of the girl that got in an accident?'

_Pokemon Clannad_

In my classroom now, I asked Dawn who she thought that girl was.

"That's probably Bianca from Class A," she replied with a smile.

"Bianca?"

"She's a genius girl who ranks in the top ten in every subject in the national exams," Dawn explained. "I hear she does independent studies, doesn't go to class, and the school doesn't have a problem with that. She's a famous person in the school."

"A genius girl, eh?" I almost laughed. "No wonder she was strange." I stayed quiet for a minute, then thought of something. "Oh yeah! Dawn! Your sister! It's no laughing matter!"

"Is there something wrong with her?" she asked. Why did she even need to ask? There's _always_ something wrong with Misty.

"Well, she comes to school on her bi-"

I was interrupted as Misty barged into the classroom screaming. "Hey! Ketchum!"

I gulped as I narrowly dodged a book that she through at my head. Misty looked pissed as she stomped over to me.

"Come with me for a second," she ordered.

I didn't get to answer as she grabbed my arm and pulled me away. I looked to Pikachu for help, but Togepi grabbed him and dragged him away from Dawn's Buneary.

"Bi? What bi?" I asked her.

"Bi?" Dawn whispered.

"What do you plan on saying in the middle of the classroom?" she hissed, choking me with my tie.

"What?" I huffed. "The fact that you ride a bi-"

She put her hand over my mouth. "Do you want to get me suspended from school?! You know commuting to school by bike is prohibited, right?"

She eventually let me go, along with Pikachu, and we both headed back into the classroom. I slouched down into my chair with a sigh. Dawn still stood where I'd left her.

"Ash, what were you talking about with my sister?"

I stood up and faced the class. "Everyone, listen! Misty is class E is bi!"

"Eh?!" everyone uproared, looking concerned and a bit scared.

"Seriously?"

"Bi?"

"She does it with guys _and_ girls?!"

"Yeah, she is kind of masculine."

"EEEHHHH?!" Dawn was the most surprised of them all.

Misty rushed back in and dragged me back out.

"Why you," she growled, a dark aura surrounding her.

Dawn walked up with tears in her eyes. "Sis...is what he said...?"

"Why are you believing _him_?!" she snarled.

Dawn turned away.

Misty just kept shouting. "It's my bike! We were talking about the scooter!"

_Pokemon Clannad_

As I wandered around outside, I saw May and Torchic in their usual place. May was spinning a broom in her hands. She looked kind of down and Torchic appeared worried.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I approached her. "Cleaning duty?"

I looked around. "You're alone?"

She didn't speak and kept spinning the broom.

"May, did something happen?"

"No, it's nothing," she responded, giving me a fake smile. She stood up. "I'll finish it right away, so please wait in the club room.

* * *

**Didn't know where to end, so...here is fine. I hope you enjoy and please review to tell me what you think! I'll try to update more often. Bye or now!**


	4. Episode 2 Part 2

May and I both sat across from each other, having placed two desks together. She sat with a blank sheet of paper in front of her and a marker. We let Torchic and Pikachu wrestle with each other while we worked.

"We need to get members or else we won't get anywhere," I explained. "Let's make a flier for recruiting members."

"Yes!" she exclaimed, taking off the lid of the marker. She then started to write.

"It'd be good to make the date after the Founders Festival," I suggested.

"Yes."

She scribbled down a little more then held up the poster. "DONE!"

"Isn't it missing something?" I asked as I observed it. It seemed kind of uninteresting.

"Really?" she asked sadly, looking at it.

An idea sparked in my head. "How about adding: "The cutest president on campus will be waiting?""

She started writing. "The cutest president on campus will..."

She then blushed and looked back up at me. "Um...is that...?" She pointed at herself nervously.

"Who else?" I answered.

"EH?!" she screamed, leaping to her feet.

"If you write that, some stupid guys might fall for it..."

"I wouldn't want people to come for that!" she yelled. "Besides, you're more suitable as the president!"

"I told you yesterday that I'm only helping," I protested. "I'm not interested in theater. Even if the Pokémon Theater Club goes active, I won't join."

"You won't?" she asked, sounding disappointed.

"You have to be the center of things. The president makes the final decision in the end. You even have a play you want to perform, right?"

She suddenly looked shaken. "But, will I be able to do it?"

"Get your act together," I sighed. "You can write this flier as you like too."

"As I like...Then! Can I draw an illustration that I like?!"

"Sure, since only words are kind of bland," I agreed.

"Okay!" she shouted with confidence. "Then..."

As she sat down to start drawing, I was a bit surprised to hear her start singing.

"Dango, dango, dango, dango. Big dango family."

As she sung the song, she worked on the drawing. "It's done!"

Surrounding the words she'd written on the page were a ton of dango.

I sighed. "That's something that was popular a while back..."

"Yes!" she shrieked happily. "Th Big Dango Family! I love it!"

"Why the Big Dango Family of all things?" I questioned in confusion. "It died off a long time ago!"

She frowned. "But it's still cute to me...You don't think it's good?"

I laughed nervously. "Aaah, if you think it's good, then go with it. I did say to do as you like."

I crossed my arms and closed my eyes.

"PORK CUTLET!" May called out loudly, frightening me.

She took a deep breath then saw the look on my face. "This is a charm to cheer myself on. It's to give myself a favorite dish as a reward if I can do my best." She shrugged. "It's strange, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't."

I stood up. "Rather than pork cutlet, let's get the Big Dango Family and bring it home. After we get the fliers posted."

She nodded. "Yes!"

_Pokemon Clannad_

We had just hung up the fliers and I stared at one tacked on the wall. Pikachu smiled at me and I sighed. "I have way too much time on my hands.

"Ouch!" a voice exclaimed from the room over.

I opened the door to see who it was.

A girl sat at the desk with some wood in her hands. It appeared she was carving out a Staryu. She wore a huge white hat with a red bow across it and she had brown hair that fell in pigtails. She, like everyone else, wore our school uniform.

I frowned and walked over to her. She didn't notice me.

"Ouch!" she hissed again as the blade she was carving with pricked her finger. It was at that moment she looked up at me.

She screamed, got up from her desk, and ran away. She stopped by the door and scowled at me.

"D-Did I surprise you?" I asked awkwardly. "I'm sorry."

"Pika..."

Unlike me, she had no real Pokemon at her side. Just that weird Staryu carving.

"Is this the art club's room?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"Then are you working on your art homework?"

She shook her head again.

"Then what is that?" I pointed at the Staryu.

"This?" she looked down at it. "This is my favorite..."

She suddenly smiled and seemed to disappear into her old world as she, "Uwaaaaah"ed.

I sighed. I knew way to many weird girls. Pikachu nudged at her feet, but she kept day dreaming or whatever you want to call that.

I grabbed her hand as she was in her daze and examined it. Her fingers were lined with cuts. I then took the knife from her hands.

"Hey!" I shouted. She looked at me, out of her world.

She looked down at the hand where her knife was and her eyes widened. She then noticed it was in my hand now. She reached for it and I held it up.

"The blade's chipped," I informed her. "It's dangerous for you to use this."

"Please give it back!" she said in a stern tone.

"Make sure you use a sharp knife," I said. "You'll find them in the art studio, won't you?"

"Please give it back!" she said louder this time.

"Your hand hurts, right?" I asked.

"No, it doesn't!" she retorted.

I held out my hand. "Paw!"

"Yes!" She slapped her hand down on mine. "Oggh!" she cried.

"See," I huffed. "It does hurt."

"No, it doesn't!" she protested yet again, tears in her eyes.

I pull my hand back and held it high in the air. "Give me five!"

"Five?"

"The thing where you slap hands after you make a shot in basketball."

"I know!" she said happily. "I've seen it before!"

"Alright," I replied. "Give me five then. Ready?"

She moved her hand up and down like she was bouncing a ball. "Dribble..." She then jumped up into the air. "Shoot!"

"You need to go from there?" I whispered.

"I made it!" she laughed.

I gave a thumbs-up. "Alright! Nice shot!"

"Yay!" we both yelled and we high-fived.

The carver girl fell to the ground and held her hand in pain while holding back tears.

"See," I sighed. "It hurts."

She shook her head.

"I'll hold on to this," I said, holding up the blade. "See ya."

_Pokemon Clannad_

I put up another one of May's flier's on the wall in a hallway we hadn't covered yet.

"There's the last one," I said with a small smile.

"PIKA!" he yelled happily.

Empoleon walked up with Barry, and Barry read the poster. ""Join The Pokémon Theater Club"? Ash, you're involved in something like this?"

I gave him a look. "And what have you been doing up until now?"

He smirked and gave me a proud look. "Training to beat Leaf." He looked at the flier again. "But the Pokémon Theater Club, eh? I'm surprised to see you interested in a damn thing like a club."

I glared at him a little.

He continued on. "You've always hated those involved club activities so much that it made you want to puke."

I clenched my fists and Pikachu's teeth grinded together. He knew just how I felt.

Barry only kept talking. "Well, you have to give me the details in the near future. Or I'll fine you. Later! Let's get going, Empoleon."

"Pol!"

I glared after him until I heard May's voice. "Ash."

I turned to face her.

"You don't like club activities?" Crap! Had she heard everything we had said. Torchic nudged May's feet, trying to console her. She looked upset.

I wasn't really sure what to say. "Don't worry. It was a meaningless conversation."

_Pokemon Clannad_

I painted eyes on some plain dango, trying to make them look like the Big Dango Family.

"Can't do much about it if they don't sell them anymore," I sighed.

Pikachu eyed them hungrily, but I shot him a look and he backed away immediately.

I looked at my work. "Well, these have got to be better than nothing."

I then began working on the next set.

"Oh, this is nostalgic."

Shivers went down my back and I saw my no-good father. I spun away from him in my chair, putting a foot or two between us. He stared down at the dango for a while, then smiled at me.

"What are you doing with these?" he asked.

I looked away from him, and coldly answered, "I'm giving them to a friend."

"Will you let me help?" he asked. "What do I do?"

He picked up one of the sticks where three incomplete dango were skewed. "Will you teach me?"

An image of May smiling flashed in my mind and I glared at him, hatred brewing inside of me. "Don't touch them!" I burst up from my chair, and Pikachu cried out in fear as I let my anger take control. "Stop it already! What's with you talking to me as if I'm a stranger?! What am I to you?!" I slammed my fist against the wall and took a few breaths.

He reached his hand out. "Ash..."

I pushed past him and grabbed the bag of dango. I then sped out of the room in a fury. I just kept running and running. Pikachu tried to chase me, but I slammed the door shut before he could catch me.

'Dammit. Dammit!' I mentally cursed.

"DAMMIT!" I then shouted out loud, racing through town.

I slowed down and put my hands on my knees, needing to catch my breath. When I turned my head I saw May sweeping outside of her family's store.

_Pokemon Clannad_

We both sat on a bench together across the street from the shop. I'd given the bag of dango to her, and Torchic rushed over to see what she'd got.

May smiled as she pulled them out. "It's the Big Dango Family!"

"Though it's not the real thing," I huffed.

She shook her head. "I'm happy. It really is a big family. I wish I could join them."

She smiled brightly at me and giggled. I found myself smiling back.

"To be honest, I was depressed all day today," she sighed. "During the cleaning, I was originally working with everyone in the class. But before I knew it, I was alone."

"I see..."

"I'm always clumsy," she said in a small voice. "I've had jokes played on me by others like that since I was little...But, I feel better now. Thanks to you, Ash."

I went silent for a while, thinking. "What was talking about earlier..."

"Yes?"

"Barry and I both enrolled to play sports," I began to explain. "You know enrolling to play sports, right?"

I stood up and looked to the sky. "Barry did soccer and I did basketball. But I soon quit after enrolling in school. There's a little story behind it."

"You came to not like basketball anymore?" she guessed as she patted Torchic and gave her some dango.

"No, but...I haven't touched a ball in a while."

"Ash, in that case, would you like to play basketball with me after school tomorrow?"

"Hm?"

"I'm actually pretty athletic," she said. "I'll be waiting on the court for you tomorrow."

"No, I'm..."

"Let's play some basketball!" she said, smiling happily and standing up.

_Pokemon Clannad_

I read a magazine in Barry's room while he sprawled out on his bed. I kept thinking of May's request to play basketball. I turned to look at Barry.

"Ash, let's skip school today," Barry suggested. "It's Saturday, so it's a half-day anyway."

"Yeah..."

I looked outside and saw that it was raining pretty hard. We'd been sitting in his room for a long while. School was over now.

"Why do you keep staring out the window?" he questioned me.

I stood up, ignoring the ramen cup I'd been eating from. "Barry, I'm borrowing you umbrella. Come on, Pikachu."

I walked up the hill to the school, splashing through puddles. I wondered if... "She wouldn't be, right?"

I ran up to the court, seeing what I had feared. May stood by the basketball hoop, holding an umbrella over her head. Torchic was snuggled in her jacket. It looked like they'd been waiting for me for a long time.

"May!" I yelled, throwing my umbrella to the side. I rushed over to her. I practically ripped off my jacket and wrapped it around her.

She smiled. "Ash..."

"Are you an idiot or something?" I hissed. "It's raining, so you should have gone home!"

"But we would have missed each other if you had come when I was gone..."

"There was no proof that I'd come, was there?" I yelled.

"But...you did come." She smiled. "You always help me. So I wanted to at least be able to play basketball with you. To return the favor."

"What are we going to do in this rain?" I asked.

"Let me see you take a shot. I want to see it. I've never seen a shot from a basketball player up close."

She held the ball up, bend her arms and got into a stance. "You take a position like this and shoot, right? Unlike me, you won't shoot underhand, right?"

I held up my hands and she tossed the basketball to me. Pikachu hopped off of my shoulder. I did a few dribbles for her to see. Then I took the position to get ready to shoot. But I didn't shoot. I dropped the ball. I fell to my knees, the rain water soaking into my pants. I hung my head in defeat.

"My right arm doesn't go up."

"Huh?"

"I got into a fight with my pops when I was in my third year of middle school and injured my shoulder. My arm won't go any higher than my shoulder. I can't shoot the ball like that. I can't play basketball anymore."

May stared down in horror. "I...I'm sorry...I..."

"May!"

"I...keep...troubling you..." May fell back and collapsed onto the ground.

"May!" I screamed, sprinting over to her.

I took her in my arms. "May..."

TO BE CONTINUED


	5. Episode 3 Part 1

POV SWITCH: UNKNOWN

_I was born into this world to seek her, sacrificing all the things I would have gained from a life in a new world. _

The girl took my hand and carefully pulled me to my feet. She smiled gently at me.

She set me on one side of the room and then she walked to the other. She started clapping her hands, urging me to walk forward.

_The girl made my body from scraps she had collected from somewhere._

I lifted my leg and took a small step forward. It led to another step and another. My overly long arms slid against the floor.

_My memory is stagnant. I cannot recall anything even if I exert effort._

After getting around halfway to her, however, I fell forward and hit the ground. Laying on my face. She immediately ran over to me.

_Where I had been until now, or where I was trying to go..._

She bent down and picked me up so I was standing once more. She started clapping again. And I tried walking again. This time, I reached the girl, whose arms were reaching out for me. She pulled me into an embrace.

"Good job," she said kindly. Then, she smiled at me.

_I cannot talk with the girl. But this is the one and only warmth I seek in this world. Although, since I am made of scrap, I can't feel the warmth._

I turned my head and stared out the window...

_Pokemon Clannad_

POV SWITCH: ASH

"Welcome," Norman greeted as I entered the shop. He turned around and frowned. "Oh, it's you."

"Sorry. I'm not a customer," I said, trying to verify since Pikachu was eyeing the bread.

"You always confuse me. Next time, crawl in on all fours so I'll know you aren't a customer."

"Then you'd think I was a stray Pokémon trying to steal your bread," I sighed. "Anyway...How's May doing?"

"Thanks for coming, but she's sleeping," he said kind of coldly. "Leave her alone. Just so you know, she wasn't calling your name in her sleep or anything like that." He pointed at me and frowned even more. "Don't be so full of yourself, okay?"

"I never asked that," I said.

Of course, he wasn't really listening. "If she were to say anything, it'd be like this." He embraced himself and started blushing, while doing a terrible impression of May. ""Dad, I love you! You're so cool. You match so well with my beautiful mother." He suddenly had a look of realization on my face and he turned to me and glared. "DON'T MAKE ME LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT!"

"You did it on your own!" I screamed back.

"Ash," A voice called out. Caroline walked out into the shop part of their house. "Are you here to visit May?"

Her Tepig trotted by her feet, munching on a strange-looking loaf of bread.

"Yes," I answered. "I heard she's stuck in bed."

"No, she only has a mild fever," Caroline assured me. She looked towards the stairs. "It's only that...May's physically weak to begin with. She was away from school for a length of time last year, too, so the doctor said to keep her in bed today to be safe."

"I see..."

"Anyways, thanks to you carrying her back, it didn't turn out to be a worst-case scenario. Thanks a bunch," he said, but he didn't put much heart into his thank you.

"No, it's my fault," I replied, feeling guilty.

He shoved a bag full of bread into my chest. "It's Caroline's bread. Take it."

"Huh?"

"Just take it. A token of our gratitude."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu screamed, urging me to take the bread as he drooled. Why was he drooling? If this was Caroline's bread...

"I didn't come for that," I replied.

"Don't be so modest. Since we're sure to see leftovers on the shelves." Norman's eyes widened as he realized something. He turned to face his wife, who had tears in her eyes. Tepig was crying too. I now realized that crazy bread Tepig was eating had been made by Caroline. That Pokémon actually liked it?!

"So...my bread is...," Caroline cried. "Is deadweight?!"

She ran out crying, Tepig snorting embers as it followed. Norman grabbed two loaves of her bread and shoved them into his mouth.

"I love them!" he called out as he went to run after her.

I sighed. "The way I see it, I guess there really isn't much to worry about."

"Excuse me," a woman said to me as she walked in. She had pink hair and had a bandage across her nose. A Lucario stood behind her with arms crossed. "Where is the staff?"

"They just ran out," I responded.

I looked down at the bag of bread in my hands and held it out to her. "Take it if you want it."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "Since they gave it to me for free, too."

"Thank you," she said happily as she took the bag. Pikachu looked slightly disappointed, but we could get some better food later on. "Say thank you to Caroline and her husband for me."

I watched her as she left the store, on her way somewhere else. She started talking to Lucario and gave him a small part of one of the loaves of bread.

"Such a beautiful person," I found myself saying.

_Pokemon Clannad_

As I walked, the image of May waiting in the rain popped into my head.

'She's so stupid,' I thought. 'She knows she's physically weak.

"You! You there!" someone called out to me. Some gut wearing glasses ran up to me.

"What?"

He grabbed my arm and pulled me along. I was going to have Pikachu shock the idiot, but he wasn't doing anything bad to me. He just wanted my opinion on a problem.

He showed me his car, which had a huge dent in it. To the side, an electrician stood. He had purple-ish hair tied back in a ponytail. An Electabuzz stood with him.

"Look at this dent!" the guy exclaimed. "A construction tool fell and things turned out like this. Will you be my witness?"

"Witness?"

"It's despicable of you to drag an unrelated person into this," the worker said.

"Without a witness, you'd run away, wouldn't you?" the glasses guy scoffed.

"Like I've said multiple times," he sighed. "I didn't drop any tools. And if I had, I wouldn't deny it."

"How can I trust that?!" the guy yelled back.

"If you're telling me to pay the repair fee, then I will," the worker replied.

"So you admit you did it?!" the guy exclaimed, pointing his finger at the other man.

"No. I want you to reflect on this one day and think...if what the electrician said that day was true or false. At a place where you felt the most restful...Next to the person you find most dear."

We both stared at him as if he were crazy. Glasses guy turned to me. "What is he saying?"

"Don't ask me," I responded.

"People's lives are repetitions of actions hurting each other," the electrician carried on. "It's understandable to doubt others. But being unable to trust anything is the same as being unable to sense other people's love. Aren't you, perhaps, feeling lonely?! Aren't you, perhaps, living slavishly? Are you able to laugh with an honest heart?"

"ELECTABUZZ!" His partner agreed.

"I think so," the guy answered.

"I see. Then you must be loved," the electrician said while crossing his arms. "Please keep living so that love doesn't go away."

'I'm amazed how he can spout out all those sick lines,' I thought. Even Pikachu was sweat-dropping.

I bent down and looked more closely at the dent in the car. Pikachu hopped onto the hood and inspected it as well, but he shrugged his shoulders, unsure of if a tool really caused it or not. I, however, had come up with something.

"Hey!" I called out to the guy who owned the car. "It was probably a cat Pokémon. Like Glameow or Purrloin."

"Cat Pokémon?"

I bent down and ushered for him to come over. "Look at it from this angle, and see?"

"You're right!" he exclaimed.

I looked up at the wall beside the car. "A cat Pokémon jumped off the wall and it made that dent, I bet."

Just as I said it, a fat-looking Purrloin crawled out from under the car and meowed. We watched as it walked away.

The guy soon left and I was alone with the electrician.

"Thank you," he said. "You saved me."

"I only said what I saw," I replied.

"I'd like to give you a proper thanks." He reached in his pocket and handed me a card. "Call me when you have the time."

The card gave his name and phone number. So this guy was Reggie, huh?

_Pokemon Clannad_

Barry now held the card and analyzed it. "So what did he say?"

I plopped my head down on the table. "Like, "aren't you living alone", or "are you smiling" and stuff."

Barry's eyes widened. "He's the legendary MC...He is _the_ Reggie!"

"You know him?"

"Heck yeah!" Barry shouted. "He's a retired charismatic musician. He had CDs out and was pretty popular."

"Seriously?" He handed the card back to me. Pikachu blinked at it, trying to read it. Of course, he couldn't.

Barry started fishing around for something. "He had gone missing, but who knew he was around here. I have "The Best Of" my little sister made for me. Listen to it."

"Wait, you have a sister?" I questioned as he set the tape in his radio.

"Yeah," he responded. "I never told you?"

"Barry's little sister...I bet she looks like this." I stretched out my face and scared Ms. Erika's Purrloin that always hung out in Barry's room.

He pressed play and I stopped and listened for a while. The sound of guitar echoed through the room. I once again picked up his card. "Reggie..."

"Ash...you listening? Ash!"

"Ah, what?" I asked, out of my trance now.

"I'm talking about Leaf," he hissed. "I was thinking...Maybe she's actually a guy."

"Eh?"

"Girls can't possibly be stronger than guys!" Barry shouted. "He's cross-dressing and deceiving the world!"

"Are you serious when your saying that?" I asked, not believing it. Empoleon and Pikachu looked like they didn't agree either.

"Tomorrow, I'll prove to you that he's a guy," he promised me, looking serious.

"At this point, Barry had yet to realize he had begun to walk the path of a pervert," I said in an announcer voice, holding Purrloin in the air.

"I can totally hear you, ya know," Barry sighed.

_Pokemon Clannad_

Barry and I along with our Pokémon once again stood before Leaf and her Machop. Only, Machop had now evolved. It was now a Machoke.

"What now?" she questioned in irritation.

"I didn't come for a fight today," Barry assured her. "I just wanted to chat a little."

"Listen to what he has to say," I said.

"I overslept this morning, so I was totally shocked," he began. He scratched his neck awkwardly.

"Your character's changed," Leaf pointed out.

Barry continued on. "And when I tried to shave, I noticed the razor was chipped, so it really hurt." He rubbed his chin to add effect.

"I see," Leaf replied boredly.

"So if you don't mind, can I borrow your razor?"

"Why do I have to lend one to you?" she asked with a glare.

"Hey! He fell for it!" Barry cheered, jumping up and down. "You heard it too, right?"

"I did, but..." I responded awkwardly.

Leaf turned to me. "What is this about?"

Barry pointed at her with a huge grin on his face. "You just said, "Why do I have to lend one to you?", right? In other words, you own a razor. Which means-"

"-I don't own one," she interrupted. "When I said "why", I meant, "Why do I have a reason to lend you my personal possessions?" First of all..."

"First of all?"

"It's rude to ask such a thing of a lady!" she shouted, and proceeding to kick him multiple times.

Barry landed unceremoniously on the ground, groaning in pain. "YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME!"

Leaf turned around and gestured for Machoke to follow. "Bye."

_Pokemon Clannad_

Walking through the halls, I passed by a large window. Pikachu started going crazy and pointing to the window. I stopped and saw May eating her lunch with Torchic alone again. She looked pretty sad. She caught my glance and nervously smiled and waved.

Before I knew it, I was sitting beside her. Torchic shared her Pokémon food with Pikachu and I smiled down at the two. They were fast friends.

"I'm glad," May suddenly said. "I'm glad that I found the courage to wave at you. I thought that you might not forgive me, since I hurt you."

"I'm sorry too," I apologized. "Really."

May suddenly started crying, her tears soaking into the bread she was eating. "I'm sorry. Now that I feel relieved..." She wiped her tears. "I'm such an idiot, right?"

I snatched the bread of her lap and ripped off a chunk, taking a bite. I then handed it back to her. "You may be an idiot, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

"You think so?"

"Since I'm an idiot too," I huffed. "I'm on the same level as you. Far away from those who can handle the real world or can take risky gambles. I bet there's a lot of stress to handle, but if it means crying alone, come get me."

As she stared at me with those bright eyes, I suddenly felt embarrassed. "I mean, since I've got time. Hanging around you keeps me free from boredom."

She smiled, a blush evident on her face. "Okay. I will call you when I feel like crying."

Suddenly, hands pushed against me, feeling me up.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

Laying beside me was the girl from before who had been making those Staryu carvings. Startle, she jumped away.

"Searching for the knife," she explained.

"Knife?" asked May.

"Oh," I breathed. I reached in my pocket and held it up. "This?"

"Please give it back," the girl demanded.

"How's your hand?" I questioned.

"It doesn't hurt anymore. It's healed." Her hand was bandaged.

I held out my hand. "Shake."

"Yes."

She clasped my hand. She immediately moaned in pain.

"It hurts, right?"

"No, it doesn't."

"It looks like you're in great pain," May observed.

"Give me five!" I exclaimed.

The girl moved her hand up and down. "Dribble..."

"From there again?"

"SHOOT!" She happily jumped up. "It's in!"

"Yay!" We both exclaimed, then high-fived.

She sat down, holding her hand and crying.

"It does hurt, right?"

"It doesn't hurt!" she cried.

"It really does look like you're in great pain," May said again.

"Then we'll do boxer and trainer," I said to her. "You're the trainer, okay?"

I grabbed her arms and positioned them. "You position your hand like this, and I'll punch your hands."

"A-Ash..." May stammered.

"You say, "One, Two, One Two!"" I carried on. "Ready?"

"Y-Yes," she answered.

"Here I go! Jab! Jab! Straight!"

"One, Two! One, Two!" She kept saying over and over. I placed the knife in her hands.

"How long are you going to say that for?"

She opened her eyes and put the knife in her pocket. The school bell then rang.

"There's the chime," I said to May. "Let's go."

"Yes."

"Um," the girl said to me. "This is for you."

She shoved one of her Staryu in my hands and ran off.

"What is this? Wha? Hey!" She was gone before I could even ask.

I stared down at it. "One of those Staryu, right?"


	6. Episode 3 Part 2

Barry was sleeping at his desk, Empoleon having come to me to ask me to wake him up. I stood next to him and called out, "Barry!"

That didn't work, so I started shaking him. "Barry, you alive? It's after school already."

He finally stirred and turned to face me. "Classes are over?"

"Yeah, about a hundred years ago," I answered.

"A hundred?" he asked. "Then you'd be dead."

"Yes. I'm a hologram," I responded, deciding to mess with him a little. Since he's stupid, he might believe it.

"Seriously?" he questioned, already sounding partially convinced.

"You've slept for a hundred years after being kicked by Leaf," I carried on, trying to keep a serious face. "This is a world one hundred years since then."

He looked shocked. "What? Then what happened to the world?!"

"It ended."

He nearly fell back in his seat. "Seriously?!"

I could hear Pikachu and Empoleon face-palming.

Barry started crying and clasped his hands together. "Father. Mother. I'm sorry I was an idiot to the very end. I'll live my best even if I'm alone."

"Wake up already," I sighed, kicking his side lightly.

He almost fell back in his seat again. "The hologram kicked me! You're real!"

"I'm actually a cyborg," I said as seriously as possible.

"What about our Pokémon over there?"

"Robots. Convincing, aren't they?"

He gritted his teeth together. "Then when you said the world has ended..."

"It's true."

"Seriously?!" he screamed. He started crying and put his hands together again. "Father. Mother. I'm sorry I was such an idiot. I'll live to my fullest with the robot Pokémon and Ash cyborg."

"I can't believe you can keep it going for so long," I sighed.

Barry stopped crying and looked at me in surprise. "You were lying?"

"You believed it?" Plus 1,000 idiocy points.

"I would since I was half-asleep!" he defended himself.

I stared out the window, seeing some sort of figure.

"Hey!" he screamed at me. "Are you listening?! Ash!"

_Pokemon Clannad_

I was now outside with Pikachu, Barry, and Empoleon, searching for whatever I'd saw out the window. I looked through all the plants we had lined up.

"Are you looking for something?" Barry asked in confusion.

I felt something suddenly start rubbing against my leg. "Spoink~! Spoink~!"

I looked down and saw a Spoink. It bounced happily beside me. The Spoink just kept rubbing against my leg, blushing.

"I-It;s way too cute," Barry breathed. Empoleon looked slightly jealous.

"Yeah," I agreed. "There's a charm you can't find in Glameow or Houndour."

"So, what is it?" Barry didn't know nearly as many Pokémon as me. He knew mostly ones from the Sinnoh region. Geez. He should pay attention in class more. Not that I really do either...

"Spoink," I responded.

He smirked and extended his arms, trying to grab it. Spoink immediately hid behind my leg and glared at Barry. "Spoink! Spoink!"

"Oh come on, don't run away," said Barry, sounding hurt. He bent down and scooped Spoink up, holding it in an uncomfortable way.

"Spoink! Spoink! Spoink!"

"It doesn't like it," I informed Barry, feeling bad for the little Pokémon.

"Hey!" a voice screamed from afar.

Before I could blink, a book was thrown at Barry's face and he dropped the Spoink immediately. Misty then came running forward, and kicked Barry right in the face, sending him skidding and bouncing across the pavement.

"Barry!" I called out to him. "Compared to Leaf's kick, which hurt more?"

"You've got other things to ask, don't you?!" he screeched. He propped himself up and got to his feet. "I think I saw something light blue along with the sole of the shoe..."

Misty started to blush. Then, she scowled and kicked Barry up into the air. "ERASE IT FROM YOUR MIND!"

Barry landed hard behind her. Spoink hopped into Misty's arms and Misty took a deep breath. Togepi popped out its head from Misty's school bag and waved at the Spoink.

Misty glared at us. "What do you think you're doing to my baby?"

I walked up to her. "That's your Pokémon? You've got the time to train two?"

"Yeah," she responded. "My cute little Spoink. It's just a baby."

"Did it come to get you?" I asked. Pikachu sniffed at it curiously and Spoink smiled and sniffed Pikachu too.

"I think so," she answered. "I nicknamed her Botan. It's a really pretty name, isn't it?"

"Sounds so delectable," I replied.

"Hmm? What did you say?"

"Nothing," I responded, feeling Misty's negative aura. "But doesn't Togepi get a bit jealous of that one?"

"Not at all," Misty assured me. "Togepi is the Pokémon I study here with and Spoink is the baby I raise at home. And they're good friends." She started to pet the Spoink. "There Botan say hello. A new friend for you."

"Spoink! Spoink!" it called at me, then to Pikachu.

"Pika!" Pikachu called at it with a smile.

_Pokemon Clannad_

"Practice for the open house," I said, with May now. We were in an old room filled with books. "Yeah. I bet you're not the type who can handle things like that well, are you? So I thought we'd look for a walk through on how to do speeches and presentations."

We both turned to face one of the shelves.

"Would we find one here?" asked May.

"Welcome," an unfamiliar voice said to us. We turned around and caught sight of a girl in the doorway. She wore the usual school uniform and had her golden hair tied back in a ponytail, some of the hair from her bangs pushed behind her ears. A Fennekin yipped next to her.

She walked over to us. "Is there anything I can do for you today? Or would you like me to serve you something?"

"Then, I'll have a hot coffee," I replied.

"A-Ash!" May hissed at me, thinking I was being rude.

"I'll get it ready right away," the ponytail girl said with a smile. "Please have a seat and wait."

_Pokemon Clannad_

A few minutes later, May and I were sitting at the table while she started pouring the freshly-made coffee into cups. She'd already set out trays of poffins for our Pokemon, and Pikachu and Torchic chatted with Fennekin in their own language as they ate.

She set the cups down in front of us on small plates and smiled gently. "Enjoy."

"Thank you very much," May said to her.

I picked the cup up and took a sip. My eyes widened. "It's good."

"I'm glad to hear that," the girl responded. "My name is Serena."

_Pokemon Clannad_

A couple minutes later, Serena found us walk through books for what we needed and we had talked for a while.

"So you're Ash and May," she said. "This is your first time coming here, right?"

"Yes, nice to meet you," said May with a bow of her head.

"Are you in charge here?" I asked.

"That's how I think of myself," Serena replied honestly. "I really like this place."

"This place used to be a library, right?" questioned May.

"It still is," she answered. "All the books that do not get read often are gathered here. It's like the second library. There are old video tapes and records, too."

"Phew," I breathed. "I thought this place had turned into a cafe without notice."

Serena smiled. "I get various people visiting from time to time."

I raised my eyebrows and she asked, "Is something the matter?"

"No, just thinking that there are lots of unique people at this school."

Her mouth formed an O shape. I just kept talking. "Or, maybe it's this city."

_Pokemon Clannad_

May and I along with our Pokémon once again gathered in the abandoned club room. I sat on a cardboard box I had flattened out and May stood before me.

"Speak pretending I'm a visitor," I instructed her. "Calm down and speak loudly."

"Yes!" she called back. "Um, I'm May Maple from 3-B. Thank you very much for coming today." She bowed as she thanked me for coming. She then looked around, trying to think. "Uh...Uh..."

"Keep it up!" I called out. "What's next?"

She took a breath and continued. "The reason why I decided to bring the Pokémon Theater Club back is..."

She looked around nervously, not knowing what to say. I sighed. "I'm surprised you want to act when you're like that. Besides, do you have any experience in acting?"

"No," she said sadly. "I'm a complete amateur. I don't know any of the details behind it."

"And the president reveals the unfortunate truth," I breathed.

She looked down and I raised my hand. "Question! What kind of play will we be doing?"

"What kind of play..."

"There are lots of genres," I continued. "From musicals to plays for kids. Realistic modern ones to surreal ones."

"Really?" she smiled, looking intrigued.

I opened the door I tried to walk out. "I'm going home..."

She grabbed the back of my uniform and pulled on it. "Wait."

_Pokemon Clannad_

I had sat down again and I looked at her with a serious expression. "Alright, then you'd better answer my questions this time. You said there was a play you wanted to do. What's it like?"

She smiled brightly. "It's a really, really fun play."

"That's so vague," I complained. "Is it a comedy?"

"No, I didn't mean it as purely humorous," she responded.

"Then are there tear-jerking moments, too?" I asked.

"Yes and no..."

"Is it humorous or tear-jerking?" I sighed.

"S-Somewhere in the middle," she answered nervously.

I let out a big sigh, but smiled slightly. "Fine, you pass. Since you were at least trying to answer."

She clenched her fists and looked confident. "Next question, please!"

I raised my hand. "What was the picture on the flier about?"

"It's the Big Dango Family!" she responded quickly and with the hugest smile I'd ever seen.

"Answered without a moment of pause," I said in surprise.

She happily continued on. "The nationally renowned characters that any Japanese person would know. It's the Big Dango Family. I'm so jealous that there's a hundred of them. Sounds like it's always fun. I think it'd be trouble if they all went to an amusement park at once. But they're-"

"-STOP!" I interrupted. "Don't start talking so eloquently! It drives people away from your gap in enthusiasm!"

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's not a bad thing to have a positive attitude. But I'm not sure about being more passionate when explaining the Big Dango Family."

"You're right," she agreed. "That would make this an open house for the Big Dango Family.

"Looks like we have a lot of walls to break..."

"I think so, too."

I moved to the side as she walked over, allowing her to sit next to me on the cardboard.

"First and foremost, why do you want to act?" I asked. "You have zero experience, right?"

"Because I like it," she quickly answered, smiling again.

"What about it do you like?" I kept going, diving in deeper.

She looked up, thinking. "I felt it'd be fun to act with everyone. Ever since I was little, I couldn't get in school plays since I'd be sick on the day. I would be absent from school often, so I couldn't participate in practice, either. So I have an infatuation with acting alongside friends." She turned to me. "I had a clear desire to join the Pokémon Theater Club in high school. That I would give my best at acting for the three years. But I couldn't come to school often, even in high school..."

She stared down sadly at the floor. "I was absent for a long time my senior year, too...But I still want to give it a try. I don't know anything, and it might be really bad, but I want to give it my best as much as possible. To work on one thing as a group. I think that's a fabulous thing. Things like that, I just..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "...I just plain love it."

"I think that does it," I said.

"What?"

"I think you should say that at the open house," I responded. "How should I say...I think you were able to say everything you had on your mind."

"Really?" May asked.

"I usually say exactly what I think."

"Yes, you do," she sighed. "It hurts sometimes."

"So believe in your own words," I told her.

"Yes..." She didn't sound convinced.

"Keep it up, May."

She nodded. "Yes!"

_Pokemon Clannad_

The two of us walked down the stairs together, carrying our Pokémon. After a little bit of silence, May spoke up.

"Will people come to the open house?"

"We'll never know until it happens," I answered honestly. "But we posted up so many fliers, so if two or three people show up-"

We arrived at one of the bulletin boards where we had hung a flier, but the spot where it was hung was bare. Pikachu and Torchic looked up at us in confusion.

"We put a flier here, right?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied. "I'm sure we did."

Serena walked up behind us. "If it's the flier that was up there, I saw a student council member taking it down."

"Take down? Why?" May looked upset.

"Probably because you didn't get their permission," Serena responded. "You two put those up?"

I scowled. "Then all the others placed around the school got..."

"May Maple from 3-B," A voice said through the intercom. "Please come to the student council room immediately. I repeat. May Maple from 3-B. Please come to the student council room immediately."

"May..."

To Be Continued...

* * *

**Chumpsterz, if you're reading this, here you go. An update. I'll try to update as often as possible and I'm glad I got you to start watching Clannad Love the anime so much. Thanks to everyone reviewing. I always appreciate it. So if you haven't reviewed the story and want to give your opinion, feel free to voice it. Until next time. Bye.**


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